Discrimination Adds to The Plight of Seasonal Workers

The Human Rights Association investigates the conditions of the seasonal workers in the Black Sea provinces of Turkey. As if not enough that they are discriminated economically, they are also treated as criminals.

Nilay Vardar

A committee from the Human Rights association (İHD) went to Ordu, Giresun and Sakarya, all Black Sea provinces, to inspect the allegation that the Kurdish seasonal workers are not allowed into the city of Ordu and to investigate the working conditions of these workers who come to these provinces from the eastern and southeastern provinces of Turkey to work in the hazelnut harvest that lasts for twenty days.

The report of the İHD committee stated that these seasonal workers, who are forced to travel under dangerous conditions, face the oppression of the local authorities in these places.

The report also stated that the difficult conditions were not limited to this. These workers had to live during this time under very unhealthy conditions without electricity, toilet, drinking water and not enough food.

The daily wage is between 20 to 27 YTL and some of it goes to “dayı” (uncle)

According to the İHD investigation, most of the approximately 6 to 8 thousand seasonal hazelnut workers come from eastern and southeastern provinces such as Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Mardin, Siirt, Diyarbakır and Batman. While the local workers receive daily 35 to 40 YTL (about 12 to 16 euro) in wages, the non-local workers receive less than this, about 20-27 YTL (8 to 12 euro). rom these wages, they also pay commission to the people called “dayı başı”.

Their life is in danger as they get on the road

The hardship of seasonal workers start with the trucks and minibuses they get on to get to the places they are supposed to work. Their hardship does not end when they get to the places where they will work. Especially at Ordu, their entrance to the province was prevented, their identity cards were taken and they were taken through the General Information Gathering (GBT) control.

“We cannot even send our kids to school”

Hüseyin İpkin, who comes to Ordu every year from Şanlıurfa for hazelnut harvest, has seven children. He says his wife is pregnant, but she still have to work, because they have to. The daily wages are between 22 and 25 YTL. They give half of this to the children. Since they have to make money to lve, they cannot even send their children to school. After Ordu, they are supposed to go to Yozgat for the beet harvest. They get back to their homes by October and only then the children can go to school. This kind of life prevents them from having normal lives.

“They treat us like criminals here”

Fevzi, who came to Sakarya from Diyarbakır with seven children, says that they are treated like criminals. He complains that they work for 12 hours and get paid 18 YTL, while the locals work for eight hours and get paid 25 YTL. He says he would rather die in his land starving than come here and work.

Suggestions from İHD about seasonal workers

- The seasonal workers should have social security.

- The state should build facilities at places where the seasonal workers work in high numbers.

- The local administrators abandon their discriminatory treatment of the seasonal workers.

- Legal regulations that will remove the intermediaries such as “dayı başı” should be enacted.

- The children should not lose their right to education; the necessary measures should be taken to make sure their education is not interrupted.

- The women should be subjected to positive discrimination; they should get the value of their labor without any cuts. (NV/EÖ)

seasonal workers

Nilay Vardar

[email protected]

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Galatasaray Üniversitesi Gazetecilik mezunu. İstanbul Üniversitesi'nde Engellilik Araştırmaları Yüksek Lisansı yaptı. 2011-2017 yılları arasında bianet'te muhabir/editör olarak çalıştı. Greenpeace Akdeniz’de İletişim Sorumlusu olarak 4 yıl...